A Question of Culpability

About a year later, there was a turn in the case that brought Atkins a second chance. On appeal, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that jurors had been given an improper verdict form. The court ordered a new sentencing.

This time, prosecutors brought in Stanton Samenow, an Alexandria psychologist well known for arguing that criminals are responsible for their violent conduct and discounting such influences as childhood abuse and mental illness.

Samenow told the jury that Atkins could name the president and governor; that he knew how many pennies and nickels are in a dollar; and that he had boasted of watching "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" and solving "the puzzles before anyone else can."

The psychologist read a transcript of part of their discussion in prison.

"Do you think that you're basically a good person?" Samenow asked.

"Half and half," Atkins said. "There's the half that doesn't want to get into trouble, all the positive stuff."

Samenow said he had not given Atkins a full IQ test but concluded that he was "of average intelligence, at least." He said Atkins failed in school because of disciplinary problems, laziness, poor study habits and lack of motivation. "It wasn't a matter of lack of ability," he said. "It was a matter of lack of performance."

He said that Atkins "chose to have a certain way of life."

The defense psychologist, Nelson, also testified to the new jury, reiterating his descriptions of Atkins's school history and low IQ. He said there was no sign of a faked result on Atkins's IQ test and noted that mentally retarded people often overestimate their abilities -- saying they can cook, for example, when they can only heat a Pop-Tart.

"Folks tend to think that someone who is mentally retarded is . . . not able to use imagination, can't do anything on their own, drools with their mouth open, has a thick head, abnormal speech -- and that's not true at all," Nelson told them. "There are many mildly mentally retarded folks who are able to live reasonable lives with some assistance."

For a second time, on Aug. 19, 1999, a jury chose death for Daryl Atkins.

A Mother's Anguish

The first time she heard the suggestion that Atkins might be mentally retarded, Mary Sloan was taken by surprise. He had killed her son in a crime that, to her, clearly took planning and forethought. "His actions didn't indicate he was retarded at all," she said from her home in Gilbertsville, N.Y. "I thought they were grabbing at straws, trying to use anything to get him off."